Aokiji's Decision

Aokiji got up and wiped his lips with his thumb to see blood. He looked up at Luffy, who was staring at him intensely and muttered "I see… What a headache…" Invisible waves came from Luffy's body without Luffy knowing and Aokiji felt them as he continued "So that's why… Hm."

He got up and looked at Luffy.

Luffy disappeared and reappeared above Aokiji with a straight face, punching at Aokiji with immense strength. Aokiji blinked and his hand turned black, he tilted his head and smashed his palm on Luffy's face, smashing him into the ground and shaking the entire island.

He was about to freeze Luffy, who was glaring at him through his fingers, when Thirteen flew at him, stomping his foot at Aokiji's head.

Aokiji looked at Thirteen and grabbed his foot with his other hand, slamming him into the ground next to Luffy without effort.

Aokiji looked at them and said "You're strong but not strong enough, unfortunately." He slowly started freezing Thirteen from his legs as Luffy shouted "STOP!" Aokiji ignored him and continued "I don't really care for what he's done. I won't bring him back to Mariejois, but he is still a criminal so…"

Luffy grabbed Aokiji's hand and growled "I said stop!" his legs compressed before turning black as they fired at Aokiji's head, knocking him back.

Aokiji stumbled backwards and let go of the two.

Luffy pulled Thirteen behind him and looked at Aokiji with a deadly glare, Aokiji looked at Luffy and said "Why are you protecting them? They're both criminals, not pirates. Real criminals, who can really do bad things. Nico Robin can bring chaos to the world, while the Mink can become that chaos itself. You, yourself, are not even safe."

His face was bored as usual, he wasn't angry, sad, or happy, but he was curious. Hence why he asked the question.

Luffy replied immediately "Because they're my friends and my crew."

Aokiji asked "Even if you have to die?"

Luffy nodded "Even if I have to die."

The crew behind him gasped and looked at Luffy in shock, they didn't know what to feel. Robin looked down, Nami trembled, Sanji was silent, Zoro frowned, Usopp shivered, and Chopper cried.

Thirteen looked at Luffy's back and then down at the ground.

Aokiji pursed his lips and scratched his head, sighing "You're just like that damn old man, so annoying…" he clicked his tongue and complained "What am I gonna say to that damn whore in the White city…" he sighed again "Why did I have to come…"

He stomped on the ground, ice spread quickly and froze Thirteen and Luffy completely. Aokiji scratched his head and walked past them, grabbing the old man ice sculpture, and walking away.

The sea froze under his feet as he walked away from the island, complaining "Of all the people she had to be with… And I just HAD to be here…" his voice traveled far and slowly disappeared as he left.

The crew came back to their senses and ran to Luffy and Thirteen, bringing them to the sea and slowly dipping them in the water. Chopper ran to the ship and shouted "Run a hot bath!" Nami moved immediately as Robin was stunned completely, unable to process why Aokiji let them go.

The fact of the matter was that Luffy and Thirteen got demolished by Aokiji in the end. She wasn't hopeful for another encounter and she started getting nervous.

The rest of the crew brought back Thirteen and Luffy before bringing them to the cabin as the Merry started sailing away in case Aokiji came back.

The crew barely scraped by from an encounter with an Admiral but they were in extremely rough shape. They were almost all injured. White was the only guy not injured and he was resting in the room, unaware that a fight happened.

Robin sat on her bed, hugging her knees and shaking throughout the night.

Zoro was sitting next to the bathtub, watching Luffy and Thirteen, thinking about the fight with Aokiji. He wasn't even close to being strong enough.

Sanji was outside, kicking the air by himself, thinking nearly the same thoughts as Zoro.

Chopper was changing the water but he was feeling bad inside, thinking about how he contributed nothing in the fight. Only being a burden.

Usopp was sitting on the Merry outside, shooting targets off the ship, his face was abnormally serious as his shots got harder and faster each time.

Nami was sitting outside the bathroom, her head in her arms and her arms around her knees. She was worried for Luffy and Thirteen, and she felt awful not being able to do anything. She gripped her arms and bit her lips.

The Merry sailed on, battered and bruised as much as the rest, but still moving forward with a strong will.